The Burning Fire
by Babs Laumer
Summary: Set after the factory incident, this fic popped into my head as an intriguing idea as to what Amon's craft could be, and how Robin finds out. Plenty of fun brother ribbing scenes with Amon and Nagira (eventually-bless both of them! :o)
1. Default Chapter

The Burning Fire

By: Babs Laumer

Disclaimer: I don't own Amon, Robin, Nagira, Zaizen, or...heck, any of the WHR characters.

Zaizen is probably slightly OOC because I don't like him much. Thank you. If anyone else is OOC, I apologize, I was just having fun, and I wanted to share.

Author's note: This fic is set after the fall of the factory. And, this is my first fic in the Japanese anime world, so any **constructive** comments are appreciated. I blame my sister and her boyfriend for roping me into this universe. Okay, 'nuf said. :o)

Oh, wait...please review. 

Flames will be used to heat my apartment.

Chapter 1:

"Robin, get OUT of here!" Robin turned from the witch she'd burned the shirt of to find Amon had been overrun by Solomon's men. His eyes burned with annoyance when she took a step towards him, intent on saving him anyway.

"GO!" She whirled, unleashing the fire inside of her, when his eyes widened. The witch sneaking up on her managed to shove her into a wall before she glared at him through her half moon glasses, incinerating him. Adrenaline pounding through her veins, she realized what Amon had guessed. They were being boxed in. Witches were appearing everywhere, and Robin couldn't take them all on at once; if the constant hits didn't wear her down, one of them would eventually get a lucky shot in and that would be it. Glancing quickly around, Robin realized two things. First, she saw a potential escape route from the way they came. It would be easy to lose most of them in the Walled City, with all its twists, turns, and numerous hiding places. The second was that Amon was gone.

Robin shut off the familiar stomach wrenching feeling in her gut, setting the littered trash in the alley into a firey blaze. Her legs gained momentum as she tore off down the alley in the opposite direction, setting fire to burnables littering the alley as she went. Hopefully, the fire would not only keep them from getting too close, but would also distract them into following a false trail when she decided to turn off to hide. "Really soon, now", she thought as she leaned into the turn to the right, grabbing hold of the corner of the red brick buillding as she did so to avoid falling over or crashing into the building. Breathing heavily, she glared as far down the alley as she could, setting more trash ablaze.

All she wanted right now was to lean against the wall for support, and banish the smoke so she could actually breathe. Instead, the running began again, but quieter this time. Being around Amon had rubbed off on her, she discovered, when she found herself, as she got further away, slipping behind trash cans and into darkened doorways, trying hard to keep from choking on the lingering smoke in her lungs. The alley, she noted absently, was almost too dark to see in. Luckily, Solomon's tactic to keep Amon and herself from noticing the hunters was backfiring into allowing her to escape.

"Amon..."

She could feel a burning sensation behind her eyes, but she blinked it back. Wait till she had time for feelings.

Finally, she found the spot she wanted. Cautious, now that she was within reach of the hiding place she and Amon had staked out for emergencies, she waited in the dark doorway, eyes seeking out telltale movement.

Normally, she wasn't this paranoid. However, after being hunted....after being worried that her partner was the one hunting her...after him pointing a gun at her...after the factory.....

She had learned circumspection. It was hard when her personality lent itself towards sweetness and thoughtfullness, but she had adapted fairly quickly-it was that or be dead.

Five minutes. It had been quiet for five minutes. Slowly she inched towards the grate in the street on the other side of the alley. After one last piercing glance, she pulled up the grate noiselessly and slipped in.

Light.

That was the first thing Amon noticed when his brain finally rebooted. And his arms hurt, almost like he'd been hanging from them for hours. Considering the position of his head, he decided this was at least not an unreasonable assumption. With difficulty, Amon opened his eyes, blinking rapidly to get his eyes used to the high illumination.

"Oh, so e's awake. Mornin' sunshine."

Amon's head slowly worked against gravity and tracked the sound to the far corner of the rectangular, bare...white....room. He strongly suspected that, especially since his recent memories were a bit fuzzy, he had been drugged. The room had an annoying tendency to sway back and forth, and his mouth had a nasty after taste in it.

Finally his eyes focused on the dark blur at the end of the room. The blur snickered.

"Sure packs a wallop, don't it?" When Amon didn't answer, the blur crossed the room until the man was painfully in focus. The brown eyes mocking Amon twinkled, as with a joke unshared (but implied) and the mouth tried to sneer successfully. Amon almost snorted. Even Sakaki could give this guy lessons. The messy mop of red hair flared wildly around the wide face, although it was still dwarfed by the man's large frame.

Amon's dark eyes remained quiescent, his face betraying none of his current mind set. A hand slick with sweat grabbed Amon's chin, forcing his face upwards for inspection. Amon choked, and tried to hold his breath against the rankness of the other's. The man grinned.

"Whassa matter, pretty boy? Cat got your tongue?" With a quick jerk, Amon brought his right knee as hard as he could up between the other's legs. After the satisfying squeak, Amon kicked out with both of his long legs, sending the guard into the other wall (only five feet away). The guard's head made a sickening crack aganst the wall, then fell forward, face first at Amon's feet.

"I'm not a curiosity."

The man on the floor didn't argue.

Satisfied, Amon stepped on the guard's head to acquire easier access to his trenchcoat's collar. With his teeth, he turned the collar, quickly using his chin to keep it up. Then, carefully, his teeth worked the lockpick from the crease under his collar. It was tricky, especially when trying NOT to get the damn thing stuck or stabbed into his mouth, but he'd practiced to the point that it only happened occasionally. Then it was embarrassing. He'd had to ask for Nagira's help once. That had been enough.

Some careful manoevering and lock picking later, Amon finally pulled off the handcuffs and rubbed down his sore wrists. With any luck, he could make it out of there before Zaizen even noticed.

Frisking the guard turned up a gun, a couple of extra clips for it, a pocket knife, and a pack of smokes. Amon collected the gun, bullets, and pocket knife. Only Nagira would go for the cigarrettes.

It was here that the door opened, revealing a host of hired help...and Zaizen. Damn.

"My, my, aren't you resourceful?" Amon curled a lip disdainfully.

"Don't you wish I was on your side?" Zaizen cocked his head to the side, noting that Amon had positioned himself behind the comatose guard on the floor. Idiot. He opened his mouth, but Amon interrupted him.

"Oh, right. You wouldn't want a witch polluting your sight, would you?" Contempt reeked from every syllable, nearly visible in the room. Zaizen no longer looked amused.

"Amon, let's stop playing. Men..." Zaizen waved a hand. Guys with guns walked confidently forward.

"One more step...and he's history." Most of the horde paused, as Amon held the pilfered gun muzzle deep in the red fuzz of his personal annoyance from earlier.

Amon wasn't sure if this would realistically work...after all, this WAS Zaizen. If nothing else, he'd gain some time to play with till he came up with something else.

"Heh. Amon, I think you've seen too many cop shows. Besides..." Amon saw a figure in the back raise his firearm. Quickly, he ducked behind the guard as a loud boom echoed through the room. Then he popped up long enough to send a bullet towards the shooter in the back, and swiveled to get Zaizen as well.

It would have worked, too, if someone hadn't nicked his upper right arm as he pulled the trigger, sending the bullet off course a bit, putting a hole in Zaizen's sleeve instead. Amon didn't have an opportunity to do much else as he was overrun by the mob Zaizen had brought with him. Amid the blows, Amon heard Zaizen call out, "Keep him in one piece! I want him alive. He's no use to me dead...that comes later." Amon, held by two burly guards, sagged between them, favoring his right side. A trail of blood flowed from his mouth to his chin, but he didn't seem to notice.

"Why wait?"

"Because I want Robin dead first. And the only way to get to HER...is through you."

"You're wrong." Zaizen snorted loudly.

"I've seen the way she looks at you, even if you don't. Do you expect me to believe you have no feelings for that WITCH?! That she has no feelings for you? After you went out of your way to save her from being hunted? After she tried to incinerate me after I shot you? You're blind. So blind it's amusing." Amon's mouth twisted upward into his version of a smirk.

"It's better than setting up your own daughter as bait to hunt a kind person, who never abused her powers, only to get your daughter shot. You're as heartless as you claim witches are. Admit it Zaizen, you and some witches have something in common—you both love to have power over others...and the power to destroy." Zaizen's eye twitched murderously before punching Amon hard in the ribs. Amon doubled over as far as he could with both his arms pinioned._ With luck, he'll either kill me, or I'll get to tell the truth I've been dying to throw in his face for months. I win either way. If I die, he can't use me against Robin. If I live, I'll be hurting, but every murderous look on Zaizen's face will be worth it._

"HOW DARE YOU? It's YOUR fault she was shot! If you'd just followed the plan... I'm NOTHING like you evil, satanic witches! NOTHING!" Amon did feel badly about what happened to Touko, but he hadn't told anyone to tie her up in her apartment with morons shooting at Robin on the other side. Zaizen should really be angry with Solomon.

"Shouting isn't going to make you any more believable. You had this guy killed," Amon indicated with his chin, "just for the convienience of it. You're WORSE than the witches...because no one will stop you from carrying on your selfish, cruel, heartless crusade."

"SHUT UP!"

"Why, Zaizen? The truth too painful?"

"I can't wait for you to die..."

"What's stopping you?"

"You don't understand, Amon. Robin has proved herself too difficult to find...unless in defense of her friends...but perhaps you're more than that? No? I don't trust your answer anyway. So...after I get her through you," Zaizen's voice dropped below zero, "I'll use you both as guinea pigs for the new batch of orbo my chief scientist has concocted. I imagine it'll be a slow death Amon, but well worth watching, after everything you've put me through."

"You don't see Touko much anymore, do you?"

"That's none of your business."

"Have you killed her yet?" It was a low blow, and probably would never happen, he knew, but it would push Zaizen over the edge.

"You're pushing it. Or is that on purpose? Hoping I kill you so I won't be able to smoke out Robin? So you'll be a martyr? Really, Amon, I didn't think you had it in you."

"You're afraid of her."

"Not particularly."

"Afraid or obsessed. Probably a combination of both, with the fear in the forefront."

"Amon...imagine (hypothetically) that I killed you right now (not that it's not terribly tempting, you understand)...then I not only have no bargaining chip, but...once she found us (and I've no doubt she will eventually) burning the place would be so easy without anyone she cared about in there."

_He doesn't understand Robin at all. She wouldn't do that. Even if I was dead._

"Assuming she DOES care for me, not that she does," _Especially when I offered to kill her if she gets out of line_, "you're just showing how much more human Robin is than you." _Success. Zaizen has snapped._

"That's it! Chunji?"

"Sir?"

"I think you can administer it now."

"What?" _What does he mean by that? _

"Don't worry, Amon. Just think of it as catching up on the sleep you've missed when with Robin."

_He's clueless. NOTHING has happened. Not that it matters right now... Damn. The situation's gone south._

Amon struggled violently despite the feeling that his arms would come out of their sockets soon, and that his ribs felt like a 200 pound lead weight was residing there. The doctor...at least, he almost HOPED he was one (the guy was in a lab coat), was getting closer with the hypodermic. Amon felt a bullet pierce his thigh when he tried to kick the needle out of Chunji's hand.

"I need access to his arm..."

Amon's trenchcoat was half pulled off and his sleeve torn before he had time to control the pain emanating from his leg. He wouldn't beg, he wouldn't... For the second time in his life, Amon was terrified...terrified he couldn't help Robin...that he wasn't in control of the situation...that....that...

The needle bit into his upper arm, and he felt his limbs turn into lead weights. His vision was spiraling out of control, swirling from a miasma of color to a dark black. He hadn't even a chance to feel his legs give out.


	2. Chapter 2

The Burning Fire

By: Babs Laumer

Disclaimer: I don't own Amon, Robin, Nagira, Zaizen, or...heck, any of the WHR characters.

Zaizen is probably slightly OOC because I don't like him much. Thank you. If anyone else is OOC, I apologize, I was just having fun, and I wanted to share.

Author's note: I'm sorry if I've offended anyone by having Zaizen as the main antagonist. I realize that Robin sent flames up after Zaizen in the last episode, but that doesn't mean that (theoretically) Zaizen didn't manage to stop the elevator and escape (as many cartoons/movies have done) so they can re-use old antagonists for later. And the flames probably weren't up to full power by the time they reached the bottom of the elevator, so he could have just gotten very warm from the experience, not fried. He did have material between him and the fire, and much of the fire would have dissipated by the time it reached the bottom of the elevator. However, if it'll make people happier, I'll tag an AU in the summary line. I did rewatch that part of the last episode.

In the Bebop section, virtually everyone brings Spike back to life, even when it's fairly clear that he was supposed to die on the roof. I just figured that since we "never saw the body" for Zaizen, that it wouldn't be too far fetched to have him survive somehow. I just didn't want to bother with the 'how' in this fic.

Sorry about the formatting, isn't playing nice, so I bit back. Also, sorry about the late update, I had physics finals last week. :oP

Oh, wait...please review. 

Flames will be used to heat my apartment.

Chapter 2:

_"I had strict orders, directly from Zaizen, not to interfere with their hunt for you. But...I just couldn't do it."_

_"Amon...I..."_

_ crashing sounds from above _

_"Let's go!"_

_"This way."_

_ Staring into the dark depths of the well _

_"Robin...I don't think of you as a witch."_

_ Dark eyes, glittering in the dark. _

_"Go."_

_ Cold stone _

_"But...the others..."_

_"Don't worry about them. Now hurry!"_

_ Strong hands, lifting down into the darkness _

_ Soft thunk from heavy weight _

_ Warm breath, paper scraping into hair _

_"Listen. If something happens to me, contact this person."_

_ Click. Platform rising. Realization. Panic _

_"Amon!?"_

"_Go."_

"_Why are you..."_

_"Robin, go down those stairs and out through the underground tunnel."_

_"No! I won't! If you stay here, they're going to...ngh!"_

_ Can't reach the button. Failure _

_"Stop that Robin, just go!"_

_ Straining. Hand shoving. Darkness. Lonliness. Loss _

_"Robin...next time I see you..."_

"NO!" Robin struggled against the blankets holding her down, gasping. Blankets. The rough material scraped at her hands as she clutched them tighter. Amon...was gone. Feelings repressed for practical reasons seeped out past her eyelids, trailing down her face.

"Why? Why does he have to keep saving me, just to leave me again? All...all I've ever wanted was his respect. As soon as I get it, he's gone. Why...why did I have to be born a witch?"

The blankets didn't answer, and neither did the darkness that permeated the room...just the way he preferred it. It made her feel worse.

When she'd made it down the long passage, she'd sank onto the heap of straw covered with a sheet, and let all the strings break at once. It was better, she'd thought, to fall asleep to avoid thinking about the events of the day.

Now she realized how wrong she was. Something was lodged in her throat, and it was hard to breathe. Her gut was twisted into a knot that she couldn't untie.

Why? Things had finally started looking better...from the information Amon had gathered from Nagira, Solomon thought they'd died in the factory...at least, that's what Doujima had told Solomon. Robin pulled her knees against her chest with her arms and laid her head across the hard kneecaps. But nothing was ever going to be right, was it?

She was the Devil's child.

The name hurt...knowing she was an engineered witch. It hurt worse when Amon told her that Juliano had ordered her hunt, because he didn't trust her. She hugged her knees tighter.

She hadn't asked for this...hadn't been given a choice. But then...what witch WAS given the choice? According to Todo, whether you were a witch or not was almost a lottery, or pot luck...since the witches couldn't pass on the witch genes reproducibly.

But, some witches had a spark of good in them. And, towards the end of her brief witch hunting carreer, she found she had mixed feelings about the whole business. After she'd been hunted...

Robin closed her eyes. She'd met nice people...seeds, potential witches...who never deserved what they undoubtedly got. And Amon...

When he had shoved her into the dark well...after she realized he wasn't coming with her...after watching her co workers shot...

It had been the last straw. All her emotions had hit overload; the fear of Amon being killed...she'd only just gotten to know him a bit better...and he finally acknowledged that he didn't think of her as a witch...

She still didn't quite understand the feelings she'd felt then...why they resurfaced now. And when Amon had pointed his orbo gun at her (for real, not just in her imagination), the world had nearly fallen apart. For some reason, he didn't trust her again. What had she done?

Robin still had nightmares about it.

However, she'd rather that he killed her before she...if she...ended up abusing her powers. She really didn't want to hurt anyone, unless absolutely necessary. She'd told Father Juliano she'd rather die than do something horrible...against God's will. Amon would just be helping her if she went over the edge and couldn't see it.

"Amon? Robin?"

Robin wiped her eyes dry on her sleeve and jumped up to greet Nagira. She even managed to conjure up a small smile, though she certainly didn't feel it.

Nagira hadn't known where the emergency hideout was until three days ago. For whatever reason, Amon had chosen not to impart this information to his brother. Amon had told Robin as much, and was surprised when Nagira had escorted Amon back to the hideout. Nagira had seemed more than usually irritated by his brother, and seemed to watch Amon like a hawk until he left. Amon had looked paler than usual, but he appeared to be fine, so Robin never asked. She'd assumed Amon had done something to annoy Nagira on their information gathering session. They HAD been taking longer than usual (four days), but considering Amon often took longer than he had at first stipulated, she wasn't as worried as the first couple of times he did it.

"Nagira." He smiled at her as he rounded the corner in the tunnel.

"Nice bird's nest you guys have got here. All you need now are the curtains."

"Nagira...tonight...last night..."

"So, the big bonfire was you?" She nodded.

"What happened? I heard rumors that a whole bunch of witches had gathered in the walled city and made a huge ruckus. 's part of the reason I came. Wondered if Amon..." He looked around suspiciously. "Speaking of the devil, where is he?" Nagira saw Robin's expression slip.

"I...don't know. We were...it all happened so fast..." Nagira pulled the cigar out of his teeth and said gently, "Start slowly, then."

Robin nodded. "We were going to pick up groceries..."

"He let you out?"

"I insisted. Four walls get boring very quickly." Nagira smirked.

"Go on."

"When we made it to the edge of the walled city, Amon paused, but I hadn't noticed. Then he'd grabbed my arm, and shoved me back the way we'd come...except we were almost surrounded by then. We got separated and...they took him. He told me to leave. I didn't want to, but..." The burning sensation behind her eyelids had returned full force, and she vaguely registered that Nagira had put a hand on her shoulder.

"Robin...it won't feel any better, but...you did the right thing. Amon can take care of himself." Nagira forced his voice to come out right. He and Amon fought and disagreed on a lot of issues, but...as he had explained once to Robin, he just hated it when people locked others up. Especially his annoying little brother.

Robin frowned. "I can as well." Nagira chuckled. The fire in her wasn't just for burning trash.

"You don't have to convince me. You took care of The Professor pretty well on your own. I certainly wasn't in a position to do much but watch." Admittedly, he hadn't enjoyed the fact that he hadn't been able to do something, but he wanted Robin to feel better right now. It was bad enough his brother'd gotten himself caught, without Robin feeling responsible as well.

It worked, too. Robin's face looked less upset.

"So, I'll go snooping around, and find out what happened to Amon, okay? In the meantime, you can..."

"I want to go with you."

"Robin...they probably WANTED you, but got my ugly brother instead. And Amon would kill me if he found out I'd let you get caught as well." Nagira waited till Robin had sighed in defeat.

"What can I do, then? I don't want...I CAN'T just do nothing." Her desperate eyes reminded him of an earlier time. A time when Amon had disappeared off the face of the earth after the incident at the STN-J. Nagira wanted nothing more than to tell her Amon would be fine, but he wasn't entirely sure he believed it.

"Can you hack at all?" Robin shook her head.

"Good. Then use this," he pulled a laptop from under his jacket, "and see if you can't find a good place for you and Amon to go after we get him back. When this is over, you'll both want to leave the area. For good, most likely." Robin nodded, a thankful look in her eyes. Nagira smiled as she set the laptop on the "bed", then left.

55555555555555555555555555555555555555555

"Any luck?"

"Not so far. Given time, we'll find her."

"Probably not. Send out rumors that Amon's alive...perhaps post it on the net, where she's likely to find it..., but that we want an exchange."

"Exchange?"

"His freedom for her."

"But, sir, will that..."

"And then, we get both of them."

"So...we never intend to give him to her."

"Of course not."

"Right."

"Oh, and how is dear Amon doing?"

"He'll live. We're keeping him sedated, as per your order."

"Good. He's too resourceful awake. Make sure he stays that way till we 'hand him over'."

"No problem. He was difficult enough for the hour or two he was awake. Actually...in connection with that...you know Shusuji?"

"Yes. Amon killed him after I ordered him to kill Amon's guard."

"His brother...Shusuji's brother... I think wants to kill the prisoner now."

"Tell him if he can't wait, he recieves the same fate as Amon."

"I'll tell him."

"Good."

5555555555555555555555555555555555555555555555

Four days, and no word.

Robin rubbed her temples tiredly. She'd managed to keep herself busy with the task Nagira gave her for the first two days. Each time Nagira showed up, and she asked THE question with her eyes, he merely shook his head. He still wouldn't let her go with him. The third day he tried giving her something else to do, but she'd had it done in three hours. It was getting to the point that he wouldn't show up as often during the day. Today he hadn't shown up at all.

Robin glared at the laptop computer screen. Why didn't it tell her anything useful?

God, she missed him.

For the first hour of the day, she'd played solitaire—a game Michael said he liked. It was okay...once she'd found the rules to the game on a website.

Now she was bored, and still worried out of her mind. She pulled up the google search engine window, and idly typed "Amon" into the blank space. She didn't expect much to happen when she hit the enter key. When she'd searched for a place for them to hide in Greece, she had gotten websites that were NOT what she'd been looking for. Lots of them were on myths, and, after talking to Methusela, she didn't feel like this was the appropriate time. It reminded her of unpleasant truths.

She was right. "Amon" had not turned up much of anything. Useful. She sighed heavily, scrolling through the mulitude of corporations, and personal websites that had nothing to do with a missing tall, dark hunter. Half heartedly she inserted "witch hunter" in front of "Amon" and hit the enter key. There were fewer hits, but one caught her eye.

A message board, discussing witch hunters' role in society. Intrigued, she clicked on it. She knew this information shouldn't be this easy to find. After all, Michael had been roped into the STN-J for hacking into their systems. This shouldn't be here...

Unless she was meant to find it.

The website required a password. Ah. So they weren't allowing just anyone to access it. Robin studied the password box a moment, then inserted her computer password from the STN-J.

The screen went black for a moment, then a text box popped up.

(So, you found it. Took you long enough. Robin.)

(Who are you?)

(Let's just say I'm an old acquaintance. I've got Amon, but I'm willing to negotiate his release.)

Robin stared at the screen. This whole scene was just surreal. Why would they give Amon up? It didn't make sense.

(On what terms?)

(You surrender yourself, and Amon goes free.)

She eyed the computer screen suspiciously.

(And...that's it?)

(That's it.)

This was making less sense by the minute. Unless...it was a trap of some kind. Was Solomon finally tired of searching for them, and felt this approach was the easiest way to successfully hunt her?

(You still there?)

They were obviously impatient, or surprised by time it took her to reply.

(Yes. How will this work?)

(You agree, then?)

It was the least she could do for Amon at this point. Maybe...maybe they'd both make it out. It was worth a shot at least.

(Yes.)

(Fine. Meet me at the warehouse where you were first hunted.)

(When?)

(Tomorrow at 3AM. Come alone, or Amon won't live to see the dawn.)

(I understand.)

The text box disappeared from her screen and she was left staring at the search she had made.

Robin was still staring at it when Nagira finally made an appearance at 7PM.

"Robin?"

He was surprised that she didn't immediately ask him how it went. Instead, she shook herself, and seemed to be closing things down on the computer. Apparently done, she smiled at him, wiping an errant lock of hair out of her eyes.

"Yes?" He held up takeout.

"I brought dinner. Thought you might be bored with all the canned goods you've been eating lately." _Maybe she's mad at me for not letting her come along._ He almost banished the thought when the smile became genuine.

"Thank you." She took her share and sat on the "bed". He joined her.

"I did get some information today." Robin perked up.

"Really?" _I guess she just didn't expect any information tonight._

"Yeah. My sources say that Amon's alive, but the price is that you give yourself over to Solomon." Robin seemed disappointed.

"I see." She started picking at her food, preoccupied.

"Robin?"

"Yes?"

"What's wrong?"

"Wrong?"

"Yes, wrong! You didn't ask about Amon as soon as I set foot down here, and something's on your mind or you wouldn't be picking at your food, so what is it?" She stopped picking at her food and glanced at him.

"Do you know where Amon is?" Nagira's shoulders slumped.

"Nope. No one knows." He decided not to add that the rumors also hinted that Amon might no stay alive very long if Robin didn't show up soon.

"They...they didn't say?"

"I had a feeling they were going to, but some ruffian buttonholed the guy I was talking to, and they both just took off. Damndest thing, that. Weird. Didn't even wait to get paid." Robin contemplated her noodles.

"That is weird."

"Yeah." Nagira finished his dinner, stood and stretched, yawning loudly.

"Well, I'm going to go back out...see if I can dig anything else up."

"Okay." Her voice sounded off. When he looked down, a tear leaked from under shut lids and made a splashdown in her noodles. He grabbed her shoulder and shook it gently.

"Don't worry; he'll be fine." She nodded.

"I know," she whispered


End file.
